The Perfect Martini

Ah, the quest for the perfect martini. Martini’s are a classy drink for classy people. Think Sinatra and The Rat Pack…Ian Fleming and James Bond…William Powel in The Thin Man.

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Let’s make one thing perfectly clear from the start. The Perfect Martini is a cocktail made with gin…not vodka; and just the promise of vermouth…very dry vermouth; and a blue cheese-stuffed olive…an Olive Express blue cheese stuffed olive.

Unlike other libations, outstanding ingredients are the key to The Perfect Martini. Inferior components cannot masquerade in this simple, sophisticated cocktail. Beefeater is the classic gin. Cinzano is the superlative vermouth. And an Olive Express blue cheese stuffed olive will splendidly top it off.

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Here’s the recipe:

Fill a metal martini shaker with about six ice cubes and pour in a capful of the Cinzano.

Swirl the ice and vermouth a few seconds, and pour the vermouth down the drain. (Noel Coward suggested that a perfect martini should be made by “filling a glass with gin then waving it in the general direction of Italy”.)

Add two shots of gin (that has been kept in your freezer) and shake forty…yes…40 shakes.